Josh Hamilton 'Distraught' After Fan Tried to Catch His Throw and Died

July 08, 2011 18:07:39 GMT

The Texas Rangers are mourning the death of Shannon Stone who tried to catch a baseball thrown at him and fell over the railing in the attempt.

The second mishap in a major baseball this season happened on Thursday, July 7 night when Texas Rangers played against Oakland Athletics. A 39-year-old fan who attended the game fell to his death when trying to catch a baseball thrown at him by reigning American League Most Valuable Player Josh Hamilton.

Shannon Stone, a firefighter from Brownwood, Texas came to the game with his young son who tragically saw his father fell over the railing in front of him. Another fan Ronnie Hargis who sat next to Stone tried to catch him by foot but failed. "He went straight down," Hargis recalled. "I tried to grab him, but I couldn't. I tried to slow him down a little bit."

Stone fell 14 feet high behind the score display. He was conscious when being brought on a stretcher into an ambulance but he died of his injuries on the way to the hospital. He was pronounced dead at 8:20 P.M. after reportedly going into "full [cardiac] arrest."

Hamilton who threw the ball "is very distraught over this, as the entire team is," team president Nolan Ryan said in a statement. "We had a very tragic accident tonight, and one of our fans lost their life reaching over the rail trying to get a ball. As an organization, and as our team members and our staff, we're very heavy-hearted about this, and our thoughts and prayers go out to the family."